Dress shields



Aug. 11, 1959 E. c. MORRIS ET AL DRESS SHIELDS Filed June l0, 1958INVENTORS BEULRH BELL MORRIS EVELYN C. MORRIS HTTUBN'EY 2,898,593? DRESS"'SHIELDS f i Evelyn C..Mornris and Beulah Bell-Morrs,`

` New York, N.Y.

Application June 1o, `195s; :serial N-. 7411,f1o9" i z crims.. ...(cl;z-isa) This 'invention relatesto .new` and. useful .improvementsinrdress-shields. More particularly, the presentuinvention proposes Athe`construction of an improved dress shield whichcan easily,- quicklyzandconveniently be removably., securedtoa .brassiere, slip,or `the likeforf -underarm use `ima dress,..blouse orlikegarmentftoabsorpperspiration,.preventchafingpand protectthe garmentandunder-` clothing from perspiration stain.

As a further object, the present invention provides a dress shield-foruse with'(straplesstdressesl and 'brassieres and for shoulder.. strap.y,garments Vof various .types As a still further'object the inventionprovides a dress shield whichfiseasily-laundered andlwhich isiprhovidedwitli lan innerf' moistureproof i backing,I 1Va. *cellular plastic foamlpad, land `an outer-i cloth layert` i For furtherycomprehension -ofv theinvention, and=f'- the objects and advantages;thereofyireference will behad to the following description and `accompanying drawings, and'totheAappended claims in"which""'the various" `novel features of theinvention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a plan view of a dress shield embodying the lirst form of theinvention, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the dress shield in a folded condition.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modied form of dressshield.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a push button clip employed with thedress shield.

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the clip in a closed position.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the clip in an open position.

Fig. l0 is a perspective view of the clip in an inverted position.

Referring to the drawings, in the first form of the invention shown inFigs. 1-5 there is shown a dress shield 10 having a generally oval orpreferably a rather tapered pear-shaped outline. The shield has a lower,more pointed end 11 and an upper, broader or more rounded end 12. Thebody of the shield includes a liexible moistureproof backing layer 14.This layer is formed of a vinyl copolymer, polyethylene or plastic sheetmaterial which is highly resistant to salts and acids generally makingup perspiration, and which is moistureproof. The second or inner layer16 is formed of plastic foam material such as polystyrene. This materialis chemically inert to body perspiration, just as is layer 14, but thelayer 16 is soft and porous and acts like a sponge. This material issuperior to sponge rubber because of its greater chemical stability andbecause it retains its shape ICC 2. longer `under hard Wear.'V Also,theplast-icfoam isi-more easily cleaned bysqueezing `infsoapy water. wThe plastic:` material absorbs perspiration V.which easily washes outn-The foam remains more porous even when highlycom-t. pacted.

The outer layer `18 is a washable,fmoisturefabsorbingr cloth materialsuch as cotton, silk or'thetlikemSynthetic. material such as nylon,`which `does not..absorb-moisture,`-. is lnot suitable for the purposezintended.

Plastic ylayers 14 and 16 may be heat-sealed together-.t as shown byseam 17. `The `severallayers `14, .16,18.are.V sewn together at `thesuperimposed? peripheriesby t stitching 20. `Disposed between layers14and 161is ra wirefZZ: i-

This wire is .formed into a general `U-shape and extends; aroundthe..upper portion- 12 andtpartof the lower por-Af tion 11. As shown inFig. 4, this` wirelhasa :core-23, of soft steel, copper, -or otheruntemperedfmetab so'-- that it is readilybent-to any-desiredshapeand hasmoderate:` shape retaining properties. The core` isfcoveredwitht a`plastic sheath -24 made of a thermoplastic material such as avinylcopolymer.; The-wire is y.secureduto layer `16:.O

by heat-,sealingor by stitching 25. t Mountedonntheir layer..14 is apair of corrosion-resistant,fspaced spring-y clips 26.` Each oftheseclips, asbest` shown in-Figs.7.10,-.

sheetmetal 4to .dene a generally flat baseri32--and2anupper-,rectangularhead 34. The base has-.a pluralitypf. prongs 436 struck`outwardlytherefrom `for. engaging lay-:l

ers 14` and 16 when inserted .throughftheselayerstand..

Head 34 has an aperture 38`Lin"wliich`is movably mounted a button 40having an enlarged base 41 to retain the button in the aperture. Thebutton has a forwardly extending finger 43 disposed to contact a bentfinger 42 struck inwardly from jaw 28. Head 34 is forme-d with curledhinge portions 44 which encircle pintle 31. Between curled hingeportions 44 on pintle 31 is mounted a coil spring 46 having endsdisposed to bias the jaw closed with teeth 27 pressed against base 32.

When button 40 is pressed inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 9 thejaw 28 is pivoted open against the tension in spring 46. Release of thebutton permits the spring to close the jaw.

Small pads 48 may be applied over the folded prongs 36 between layer 16and 18 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5. These pads may beheat-sealed or stitched to layer 16. If desired, prongs 36 may be cutoff from the clips and the clips can be secured to the plastic layer 14alone by sewing thread. The holes 33 formed in striking out of prongs 36may serve for attaching the sewing thread. Alternatively, the bases ofthe clips can be secured to layer 14 by a suitable cement. If the bases32 are formed of plastic material they can be heatsealed to layer 14.

Attached to layer 14 are a pair of short spaced elastic bands 54. Thesebands provide means for securing and engaging the hooks 55 mounted onthe opposite ends of strap 56. This elastic strap is adapted to engagethe upper arm of the wearer for holding the shield more securely inplace if needed. The strap may be removed if not needed.

In use, the dress shield 10 is folded generally along the line A-Aindicated in Figs. 1 and 5, with the plastic layer 14 inside and thecloth layer 18 outside. In this folded position the dress shield isdisposed under the armpit of the wearer with the cloth side 18 of lowerportion 11 against the body. The upper portion 12 may Ibe folded overthe top edge of a brassiere or slip and adjusted to any desiredposition. Then clips 26 may have -their jaws 28 engaged on the upperedge of the brassiere or slip so that the dress shield remains securelyin position and does not ride out of place. Strap 56, as mentionedabove, provides an additional elastic anchoring means for the shield.

When in use, the folded layerl 14 provides a `double moistureproofbarrier to perspiration. This layer, which is :spaced from the outergarment such as a blouse or dress, will not transmit stainingperspiration. The doubled plastic foam effectively retains and absorbsthe perspiration 'from arm and body. The cloth layer 18 provides a cool,non-chang surface against the body and a nonslipping surface against theunderarm portion of the blouse or dress. Strap 56 can serve as anindependent shoulder strap and need not be engaged with straps of thebrassiere or slip worn at the same time. When it is so desired, theshield is readily removed by opening the jaws ofthe clips. The shieldcan be squeezed out in'soapy water and rinsed by squeezing in clearwater and hung up to dry. The entire laundering operation takes but afew` seconds.

-If desired, the cloth layer 18 and foam layer 16 can be treated byspraying with a suitable antibacterial compound, deodorant, or the like.

In Fig. 6, a modified form of dress shield is shown without thereinforcing wire 22 and without the securing bands 54. In otherrespects, this form of the invention is similar to the previous form andthe various parts may be recognizedby corresponding reference numeralsWith a prime added. Y

"While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments ofour invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves tothe precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes andmodications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A dress shield comprising a generally oval body, said body having amulti-layered structure, a pair of spring clips provided with pushbutton operated pivotable jaws and secured to an outer layer of the bodyfor engaging on portions of underclothing and retaining said bodythereon in a folded condition, a pliable shape retaining means disposedbetween layers of the body said shape retaining means being anuntempered metal core covered with a plastic sheath, and a strapremovably secured to said body for engaging over the upper arm of thewearer thereof.

2. A dress shield comprising aV generally oval body, said body having amulti-layered structure, a pair of spring clips provided with pushbutton operated pivot-` able jaws and secured to an outer layer of thebody for engaging on portions of underclothing and retaining said bodythereon in a folded condition, a pliable shape retaining means disposedbetween layers of the body said shape retaining means being anuntempered metal core covered with a plastic sheath, strap retainingmeans secured to said plastic barrier, a strap removably secured to saidstrap retaining means, said clips having prongs extending through layersof the body and resilient pads covering said prongs adjacent the body.

References Cited'- in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS867,830 McMann Oct. 8, 1907 1,108,427 Brennan Aug. 2S, 1914 2,438,771Topjian Mar. 30, 1948 2,556,231 Stephens June 12, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS18,244 Great Britain of

